Iceland’s prime minister claims he did not resign

Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson backtracked from a statement that was interpreted as a resignation after he was implicated in the Panama Papers scandal.

Hours after issuing a statement Tuesday afternoon, Gunnlaugsson sent a follow-up email, published by a Financial Times journalist on Twitter, saying he had not resigned. Instead, he said he stepped aside in favor of Sig­urður Ingi Jó­hanns­son, the vice chairman of his Progressive Party, "for an unspecified amount of time."

Gunnlaugsson also said he was "very proud of the success of his government policies" and "especially proud of his government's handling of Iceland's situation with the creditors of the failed Icelandic banks."

Iceland's prime minister faced overwhelming pressure to resign after the leak of more than 11 million documents from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. The cache showed a company called Wintris Inc., created in 2007 in the British Virgin Islands and owned by Gunnlaugsson and his now-wife Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir, held a significant amount of bonds of Icelandic banks. This was not declared in his parliamentary register of financial interests.

An estimated 10 percent of the country's population protested in front of Iceland's parliament after the revelations.

Gunnlaugsson rose to power in 2013 following a wave of anger sparked by the collapse of Iceland's financial system and the failure of three major banks in 2008. As a leader of the so-called InDefence movement, the former journalist campaigned against the bailout of international creditors by the Icelandic government.

Gunnlaugsson again neglected to disclose his personal interests when he was elected prime minister, even though he would have to take decisions affecting the creditors. Last year, he agreed to a controversial deal that would benefit creditors, including Wintris, by as much as €2 billion, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung.

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This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when George Costanza quit his job in a rage and returned the next day like nothing happened. Would be awesome if the Icelandic protesters start using Georgy’s facemask to ridicule Gunnlaugsson 😉 #Costanza4Iceland

Frist we saw take giant steps in open democracy and a free society the surprise box walked feed the global economic marginalization and gauges to lead the world to plunder public and create wealth I must say that I rely on international standards Clear that the sky will be blue again is always blue for scoundrels

Iceland democracy was something to look up to – they jailed the bankers responsible for 2008 economic crash (although they will be leaving prison soon) and now they nearly heckled their PM out of office after Panama scandal. But the storm is coming and more democracy is needed. When 3 Italian banks are failing hard and Deutsche Bank’s (the biggest bank in Europe) exposure in derivatives (things that caused 2008 meltdown) is now equal to 10x Eu’s GDP.
They will need democracy and a lot of it in Iceland – what is happening economically in the Continent is unbelievable http://independenttrader.org/the-most-important-events-of-march-2016.html